


The DECEPTION of MAKOTO!

by gabapple



Category: Free!
Genre: Gen, Potential Pairing, WHO EVEN KNOWS!!!, friends - Freeform, some language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-23
Updated: 2016-11-23
Packaged: 2018-09-01 15:26:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8629372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gabapple/pseuds/gabapple
Summary: Rin and Makoto have been waiting around for the others for a really, really long time... what's taking them so long?!





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RinChanSanMatsuoka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RinChanSanMatsuoka/gifts).



> Gift fic for a friend of a friend. :) It's short and fluffy and I really enjoyed writing it. I wanted it to be full of hope and POSSIBILITIES~*~ I hope that comes across, and I hope you enjoy it, Rin!
> 
> Many thanks to my dearest darling @mamodewberry for not only tipping me off to the need, but for betaing this for me, too! You're the best!

Iwatobi.

Summer heat.

Sweat.

Sticky grass and salt.  _ Ugh. _

“Don’t you ever get tired of this crap?”

Makoto scratched the hair at the back of his neck, then combed the rest away from his ear, turning to glance at the boy next to him in the shade. The cicadas overhead carried on their constant, droning trill in the haze, and for a moment, he forgot the question that his companion had asked. Blinking twice at the flat, cold-edged expression that greeted him, the brunet offered an apologetic smile.  “Sorry, what?”

“All this waiting. Aren’t you tired of it?”

“Hmm.” Makoto turned his gaze back to the canopy of green above them, humming as he tucked his arm back under his head. After several long seconds, he shrugged. “It’s not so bad.”

_Passive._ _That’s what Tachibana is._ Rin sought out a thicker stalk of grass from the lush blanket beneath him and rooted it out, twisting it between his fingertips. _A pushover. Always getting taken advantage of by the other guys because he’s too damned nice._ “How long has it been?”

Makoto hummed again. “Not too long.”

Rin’s watch said otherwise. “Forty-fucking-minutes,” he spat, and tore the delicate foliage in half. “We’ve been sitting here for almost an  _ hour _ waiting for those assholes.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

The anger was one thing, but the fact that Makoto wasn’t even commiserating made it worse. In fact, it looked like the gentle giant was falling  _ asleep! _ Rin sat up and pushed his shoulder, teeth grit with the tension in his jaw. “Oi, come on!”

“Just give them a little longer…”

“Like hell!” Getting mad at Makoto of all people wasn’t something that Rin really  _ wanted _ to do; it wasn’t something that he was used to, either. Of all people, the cat-loving pacifist was one of the most calming and grounding people that he knew. But there were limits. And wasting his time was one of them.  Huffing a breath through his nose, he dug for his phone. “I’m calling them.”

“Ah- wait.” Makoto covered Rin’s hand with his own, wide awake once more. Or maybe he hadn’t been all that sleepy to begin with. “Don’t call.”

“What? Why not?!”

He dropped his gaze, color dusting his cheeks. “They’re not coming.”

“Eh?” Rin let the phone fall back into his bag, concession in hope of confession. “What are you talking about?”

“I… sort of didn’t tell them.”

Blink. Blink.

Rin let that sink in for a good few seconds before cocking his head to one side. No. It still didn’t make sense. Tachibana wasn’t stupid, that wasn’t even a question, and he wouldn’t put it past him to have the capacity to pull a fast one on someone if he needed to. But  _ why? _

_ Probably for Haru’s sake… _

Rin rolled his eyes, though he didn’t mean it. It was always about Haru.  He forced a patient grin. “What’s Haru doing now?”

It was Makoto’s turn to blink, and he recoiled, color deepening to a rosy flush across the bridge of his nose and to the bridge of his ears. “It’s- no, I…”

Rin pressed closer. Whatever it was, Tachibana was close to cracking. “What?”

“Uh- I!” The other boy leaned back, palms searching for purchase in the grass, scooting away for every inch that Rin advanced.

“Well?!”

Makoto froze when his back met the trunk of the tree, which at least freed his hands to hold them up in defense. “Hey, hey,” he laughed. Nervous. “Come on.”

Rin fixed a dark-eyed glare on him. “Fess up, Tachibana.”

The green eyes of the taller boy flit to the side again while he worried his lower lip, buying himself just one last moment of time before he finally sighed. “I just—I just wanted to spend time with you.”

“Haa?” Again, Rin cocked his head. “But…”

“Without… everyone else.”

He studied Makoto for several long seconds, just inches from his face, then sat back with another huff and a long sigh. “And you couldn’t’ve just asked?”

Makoto relaxed enough to hunch his shoulders, hands dropping to his lap. “I wasn’t sure what you’d say.”

“Tchh…” Rin bumped his shoulder. “Well let’s stop wasting time. What do you wanna do?”

“Uh…”

“Let me guess, you didn’t get that far?”

Makoto offered yet another apologetic smile. “Sorry!”

“Geez… Let’s start with lunch.”


End file.
